One of the most popular and accomplished bands in the arty, noisy indie rock offshoot dubbed math rock, Polvo touched on many of the style's hallmarks: dissonant, intricately layered guitars that often employed alternate tunings; odd, off-kilter rhythms; an emphasis on dense sonic texture; and unorthodox song structures that, nonetheless, were... [+] Read More

One of the most popular and accomplished bands in the arty, noisy indie rock offshoot dubbed math rock, Polvo touched on many of the style's hallmarks: dissonant, intricately layered guitars that often employed alternate tunings; odd, off-kilter rhythms; an emphasis on dense sonic texture; and unorthodox song structures that, nonetheless, were often unconventionally melodic. Additionally, their music had a pronounced Eastern feel that came not only from the Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones in their compositions, but actual Asian instruments as well; that helped set them apart from other post-Sonic Youth/Slint guitar experimentalists.

Polvo were formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC, site of one of the more fertile and eclectic indie scenes of the '90s. Their lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson, and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski met in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina, and discovered a mutual admiration for both the SST roster and the progressive end of the classic rock spectrum. Despite an erratic live presence at first, the band earned a strong local following and released the seven-song double-7" Can I Ride on Kitchen Puff in 1991 (it was later reissued as Polvo). They subsequently signed with Chapel Hill indie Merge -- run by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson -- and issued their debut album, Cor-Crane Secret, in 1992. Reviews were mostly favorable, and -- helped by tours with Superchunk and Babes in Toyland -- the band garnered a devoted cult audience that remained fairly steady throughout its existence. Today's Active Lifestyles followed in 1993, refining the group's approach, and it was followed in turn by two EPs, 1994's Celebrate the New Dark Age and 1995's This Eclipse.

Polvo subsequently switched to the Chicago-based Touch & Go label, which was more associated with challenging, noisy guitar rock than Merge. Their debut for the label was 1996's double-length Exploded Drawing, an eclectic, progressive effort that began to delve more explicitly into the guitarists' fascination with Asian musics. Drummer Watkins left the band afterward, and was replaced by Brian Walsby. The rest of the group was beginning to drift apart as well; Brylawski moved to New York City to play with Asian musicians (and also traveled to India), while Bowie started dating Helium frontwoman Mary Timony and relocated to Boston to play bass with her band. Polvo reconvened in 1997 to record Shapes, and rumors that it would be their final album proved true when they amicably disbanded later that year. Bowie had been making four-track recordings at home of material that wasn't quite right for Polvo, and he eventually turned it into a solo project; adopting the name Libraness, he debuted with Yesterday...and Tomorrow's Shells in 2000 on the Tiger Style label. Brylawski, meanwhile, joined the North Carolina-based, world-inflected trio Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Shunning the burgeoning alternative rock movement, Cul de Sac intertwined elements of surf rock, Krautrock, Middle Eastern trance and folk music, post-rock psychedelia, and avant-garde to create a unique blend that garnered immediate critical attention. Formed in the early '90s by guitarist Glenn Jones, multi-instrumentalist Robin Amos, formerly... [+] Read More

Shunning the burgeoning alternative rock movement, Cul de Sac intertwined elements of surf rock, Krautrock, Middle Eastern trance and folk music, post-rock psychedelia, and avant-garde to create a unique blend that garnered immediate critical attention. Formed in the early '90s by guitarist Glenn Jones, multi-instrumentalist Robin Amos, formerly of the Girls, and Bullet La Volta drummer Chris Guttmacher, Cul de Sac released their first LP, Ecim, on the independent Northeastern label. Bassist and filmmaker Chris Fujiwara played on the release as well and became a permanent member of the band. In addition, steel guitarist and fiddler Ed Yazijian and tape manipulator/collagist Phil Milstein performed on Ecim. Dredd Foole guested on vocals, but most of Cul de Sac's material on this and later releases was instrumental. According to Jones, Yazijian left the band because they were "too loud"; he later joined Kustomized.

Early live shows were enhanced by the experimental films of Fujiwara and A.S. Hamrah, adding to the band's eclectic mystique. After a series of singles, a compilation of rehearsal jams was packaged and released as a second LP in 1995 as I Don't Want to Go to Bed, an interesting low-fi collection. Cul de Sac collaborated with the legendary John Fahey on 1996's China Gate. Three years later the group released the full-length Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall. The members of Cul de Sac steadfastly oppose categorization. Their original compositions and recordings have been enhanced by instruments of their own creation, including the Contraption and the Incantor. ~ Nick Kemper, All Music Guide [-] Hide

One of the Midwest's hardest-hitting bands of the mid-'90s, the Dazzling Killmen never lived up to the critical success of their appropriately named second album, Face of Collapse. Although the album, released in February 1994, was dubbed the "number one heavy record of the decade" by Alternative Press, it marked the beginning of the end for the... [+] Read More

One of the Midwest's hardest-hitting bands of the mid-'90s, the Dazzling Killmen never lived up to the critical success of their appropriately named second album, Face of Collapse. Although the album, released in February 1994, was dubbed the "number one heavy record of the decade" by Alternative Press, it marked the beginning of the end for the St. Louis-based quartet, which disbanded shortly before a planned tour of Japan.

The Dazzling Killmen represented the vision of vocalist/guitarist Nick Sakes, who had recruited original members Darin Gray and Blake Fleming. After several months of honing their sound, the trio released their first single, "Numb" b/w "Bottom Feeder," on Sakes' label, Sawtooth. Releasing their second single, "Torture" b/w "Ghost Limb," on the Crume Life label, they caught the ear of Skin Graft Comex owners and punk rock enthusiasts Mark Fischer and Rob Syers, who launched a production company, Skin Graft, to record their music. With Fischer and Syers' support, the group began to take major strides. After releasing their third single on the small St. Louis-based Sluggo label, they recorded their debut album, Dig out the Switch, for French noise label Intellectual Convulsion.

Adding a second guitarist, Tim Garrigan, the Dazzling Killmen continued to build a following for their hard-edged music. Their live performances were showcased on a cassette that was only available at their shows and mail order.

Shortly after the breakup of the Dazzling Killmen, Fischer and Syers released a compilation of their singles, Recuerdo. Bassist Darin Gray and guitarist Tim Garrigan continued to work together in an anti-band, You Fantastic, while drummer Blake Fleming formed a new group, Laddio Bolocko. Moving to Minneapolis, Sakes launched a group similar to the Dazzling Killmen, Colossamite. As of 2002, he was performing with another group, Sicbay. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Bastro was the more prominent of guitarist David Grubbs' two immediate post-Squirrel Bait projects (the concurrently running Bitch Magnet being the other). Grubbs originally joined the Louisville, KY-based Squirrel Bait while still in high school, and was actually one of the oldest members of the group; when he and bassist Clark Johnson left for... [+] Read More

Bastro was the more prominent of guitarist David Grubbs' two immediate post-Squirrel Bait projects (the concurrently running Bitch Magnet being the other). Grubbs originally joined the Louisville, KY-based Squirrel Bait while still in high school, and was actually one of the oldest members of the group; when he and bassist Clark Johnson left for college, it effectively spelled the end of the band after two important releases. Grubbs went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and formed an early version of Bastro in 1987 with bassist Dan Treado, who soon left. Even though Clark Johnson had gone to Chicago, he and Grubbs reteamed as the new core of Bastro, and pursued a more twisted and abrasive style of post-hardcore punk than their former band. Backed by a drum machine, they issued a six-song EP, Rode Hard & Put Up Wet, on the Homestead label in 1988. They subsequently played some tour dates with My Dad Is Dead, whose drummer at the time was Oberlin College percussion major John McEntire. McEntire wound up joining Bastro full-time for their LP debut, 1989's Bastro Diablo Guapo, which drew comparisons to the blistering extremity of Steve Albini and the precision and shifting dynamics of another Squirrel Bait offshoot, Slint. Their second full-length, 1990's Sing the Troubled Beast, found the group straining against their established blueprint to follow a relatively subtle and melodic path. Bassist Johnson subsequently left the group and was replaced by Bundy K. Brown; meanwhile, Grubbs relocated to Chicago to attend graduate school. Feeling limited by the extremity of their power-trio format and afraid of stagnating, Bastro tried to push into more atmospheric territory, and wound up deciding to retire the name altogether and continue as a completely different project, dubbed Gastr del Sol. Brown and McEntire appeared on Gastr del Sol's 1993 debut, The Serpentine Similar, after which the group became a vehicle for Grubbs' collaboration with Jim O'Rourke, as well as a touchstone of the post-rock movement. Brown and McEntire subsequently became charter members of the even more seminal post-rock outfit Tortoise. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Though largely overlooked during their relatively brief lifespan, Slint grew to become one of the most influential and far-reaching bands to emerge from the American underground rock community of the 1980s; innovative and iconoclastic, the group's deft, extremist manipulations of volume, tempo, and structure cast them as clear progenitors of the... [+] Read More

Though largely overlooked during their relatively brief lifespan, Slint grew to become one of the most influential and far-reaching bands to emerge from the American underground rock community of the 1980s; innovative and iconoclastic, the group's deft, extremist manipulations of volume, tempo, and structure cast them as clear progenitors of the post-rock movement which blossomed during the following decade.

Whatever the extent of Slint's own influence, the group grew out of Louisville, Kentucky's legendary Squirrel Bait, another seminal band which languished in relative obscurity during its own lifetime but ultimately spawned the likes of Gastr del Sol, Big Wheel, and Bastro. Guitarist/vocalist Brian McMahan formed his first group at the age of 12; within a few years, he teamed with drummer Britt Walford, and after the addition of vocalist Peter Searcy, guitarist David Grubbs, and bassist Clark Johnson, they founded Squirrel Bait in the mid-'80s. After two ferocious records, a self-titled 1985 effort and 1987's Skag Heaven, the group disbanded, leaving McMahan and Walford to continue on as Slint with guitarist David Pajo and bassist Ethan Buckler.

With producer Steve Albini, the quartet recorded 1989's Tweez, issued on their own Jennifer Hartman label; a collection of odd stylistic approaches, fractured rhythms, and strange lyrical fragments, the album owed debts to few (if any) historical precedents and steadfastly defied easy classification. Shortly after the record's completion, Buckler left to form King Kong, and was replaced by bassist Todd Brashear for 1991's Spiderland, an even more sophisticated and adventurous set.

With the exception of a posthumous 1994 EP (originally recorded between the two full-length albums), Spiderland was Slint's swan song, although the individual members remained key figures in the independent scene. After attending art college, Pajo joined the ranks of Tortoise, while Walford (under the alias Shannon Doughton) played drums with the Breeders before rejoining Buckler in King Kong. McMahan and Brashear, meanwhile, aided Will Oldham in his ever-shifting Palace aggregate (which additionally housed Pajo and Walford at one point or another); McMahan and Pajo also briefly reunited as members of the For Carnation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Working from the basic foundation they established on Gone Glimmering, Chavez spins off into new territories on their second album, Ride the Fader. Equal parts post-hardcore punk and prog-metal, Chavez's music is intellectual guitar rock -- riffs are fractured and self-consciously asymmetrical, winding in on themselves and then turning inside... [+] Read More

Working from the basic foundation they established on Gone Glimmering, Chavez spins off into new territories on their second album, Ride the Fader. Equal parts post-hardcore punk and prog-metal, Chavez's music is intellectual guitar rock -- riffs are fractured and self-consciously asymmetrical, winding in on themselves and then turning inside out. What prevents Ride the Fader from becoming a tedious, pompous exercise in experimental rock is visceral directness, combined with detail. Chavez is a powerful, muscular band, capable of giving their densely packed songs a startling immediacy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

More known for its frequent name-checks than its actual music, Spiderland remains one of the most essential and chilling releases in the mumbling post-rock arena. Even casual listeners will be able to witness an experimental power-base that the American underground has come to treasure. Indeed, the lumbering quiet-loud motif has been lifted by... [+] Read More

More known for its frequent name-checks than its actual music, Spiderland remains one of the most essential and chilling releases in the mumbling post-rock arena. Even casual listeners will be able to witness an experimental power-base that the American underground has come to treasure. Indeed, the lumbering quiet-loud motif has been lifted by everybody from Lou Barlow to Mogwai, the album's emotional gelidity has done more to move away from prog-rock mistakes than almost any of the band's subsequent disciples, and it's easy to hear how the term "Slint dynamics" has become an indie categorization of its own. Most interestingly, however, is how even a seething angularity to songs like "Nosferatu Man" (disquieting, vampirish stop-starts) or "Good Morning, Captain" (a murmuring nod to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner") certainly signaled the beginning of the end for the band. Recording was intense, traumatic, and one more piece of evidence supporting the theory that band members had to be periodically institutionalized during the completion of the album. Spiderland remains, though, not quite the insurmountable masterpiece its reputation may suggest. Brian McMahan softly speaks/screams his way through the asphyxiated music and too often evokes strangled pity instead of outright empathy. Which probably speaks more about the potential dangers of pretentious post-rock than the frigid musical climate of the album itself. Surely, years later, Spiderland is still a strong, slightly overrated, compelling piece of investigational despair that is a worthy asset to most any experimentalist's record collection. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Jim O'Rourke's last album with Gastr del Sol is a subdued, meditative affair, bringing together elements of folk, jazz, film music, and the avant-garde. "The Seasons Reverse" opens the album with a deceptive, gentle melody and strummed, hushed guitars. Its sound and leisurely pace set the tone, but not the style, for the rest of the album. Each... [+] Read More

Jim O'Rourke's last album with Gastr del Sol is a subdued, meditative affair, bringing together elements of folk, jazz, film music, and the avant-garde. "The Seasons Reverse" opens the album with a deceptive, gentle melody and strummed, hushed guitars. Its sound and leisurely pace set the tone, but not the style, for the rest of the album. Each track is intricate and layered, but the music isn't overly complex. Instead, Camoufleur is quiet and minimal, requiring attentive listening. Only "The Seasons Reverse" and the closer "Bauchredner," with its unexpected, catchy horn-driven coda, are straightforward. The remainder of the album demands concentration. Given some time, the album opens up, revealing layers of modest beauty. It's a nice way for O'Rourke to leave the fold, and it certainly suggests that David Grubbs is far from finished musically, whether he chooses to continue with Gastr del Sol or not. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

June of 44's fourth full-length, Four Great Points, is their most experimental effort to date -- fractured melodies and dub-like rhythms collide in a noisy atmosphere rich in detail, adorned with violins, trumpet, severe phasing effects, and even a typewriter. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

June of 44's fourth full-length, Four Great Points, is their most experimental effort to date -- fractured melodies and dub-like rhythms collide in a noisy atmosphere rich in detail, adorned with violins, trumpet, severe phasing effects, and even a typewriter. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Beginning and almost ending with an interpretation of the title track, a lesser known collaboration from the mid-century musical figures Victor Young and Harold Adamson, China Gate, edited down from one lengthy recording session, finds Cul de Sac fully coming into its own. Smack-dab in the middle of a post-rock craze which the band itself had no... [+] Read More

Beginning and almost ending with an interpretation of the title track, a lesser known collaboration from the mid-century musical figures Victor Young and Harold Adamson, China Gate, edited down from one lengthy recording session, finds Cul de Sac fully coming into its own. Smack-dab in the middle of a post-rock craze which the band itself had no real part in or immediate affinity for, the quartet's combination of artistic inspirations from around the world into an at-once dreamy and energetic series of compositions won it long-due attention. Each of the members' specific talents get a chance to shine, all without seeming like a series of solo spots or showboating on their part. "Sakhalin" is one excellent example, with Jones and Amos trading off guitar and synth pieces in the best jazz tradition as Fujiwara and Proudman lay down a steady, swinging rhythm. Top that off with a bit of studio chatter after the song ends about the meaning of the title, and the feeling is of a band at once serious and relaxed about what they do -- a good balance that continues throughout. Everything from queasily disturbing synth and electronic lines from Amos to unaccompanied drumming from Proudman goes into the mix, the feeling being like an open-ended journey through a mystic mental landscape. One sign of the band's abilities lies in how it can tackle both loud and soft material with the same evocative grasp, as the quiet but never evanescent "James Coburn" demonstrates, building up just enough, but no more, for its ending. Other high points include Jones' chiming, almost rollicking guitar work on "Doldrums," Fujiwara's lovely bass on "Hemispheric Events Command," which stays just enough to the fore as the rest of the band kicks in, and the lengthy explorations of "The Fourth Eye." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Hide